Dancing: New Loves and Old Friends & Old Loves and New Friends
by Sydney100
Summary: This story is set a month before Edith and Bertie's wedding. Edith, Bertie, Mary, Henry, Tom and Laura Edmunds all attend a nightclub in London to go dancing together. Mostly Bertie / Edith. But also some (Henry / Mary) & (Tom / Laura) :)
1. Toasts & Cheers

**A Night of Dancing: New Loves and Old Friends & Old Loves and New Friends**

Author's Note: I wrote this story because wanted to try my hand at different characters while still having Bertie and Edith as the main focus. Also – still told from Bertie's POV because as far as characters go, I LOVE him ;)

Bertie was very excited. He, Edith, Mary, Henry, Tom and Laura Edmunds had all just taken their seats at their table on the mezzanine floor overlooking the newest elite dance club on the London scene. Edith, as owner of one of the most successful women's magazines in England had received a VIP invite to the club's grand opening night soiree and had parlayed that into an extended invitation for her fiancé and her Editor-in-Chief. Bertie knew that it was a night that Edith had been looking forward to for weeks. Originally, it was just the three of them, but ever since Edith and Mary had vowed to be kinder to each other, she told him she thought the magnanimous thing to do was to extend the invitation to Mary, her husband and her wonderful brother-in-law, Tom. Bertie was pleased and so proud at her generosity of spirit. A further added bonus was that both Laura and Tom's faces had lit up a little when they'd been told about each other's attendance. This only confirmed a suspicion that Bertie had secretly harbored since they'd all met for the first time at Henry's race at Brooklands earlier that summer and he was curious to see how the evening would play out for the two of them particularly.

"Well, first off, thanks Edie, for including us!" Began Henry. "This club looks just _divine_! I think we're in for a real treat tonight"

"Indeed." Started Mary. "Already it seems this place is a who's who of the London scene. Oh look, there's Natalie Rowlands and her husband! Oh darling, we must go and say hello shortly." She said to Henry only while wrapping her arm around his.

Bertie and Edith exchanged a knowing look between them, which Bertie quickly realized had not escaped Tom's notice.

"Yes, I think we're in for a good night. A lively night indoors with some dancing is just the ticket on a cold December night, I think!" Tom encouraged.

Edith smiled pleasantly and looked around the table, even smiling at Mary. "I'm so glad you were all able to make it as well. I do think we're in for a special evening-"

She was interrupted by the arrival of a waiter who took orders for their first round of cocktails, Bertie, feeling even more generous than usual, ordered a round of champagne for everyone, not just to celebrate his fiancé's professional success, and the six of them being together and forging new friendships, but mostly his and Edith's upcoming marriage. The wedding was closer than ever and Bertie was feeling an overwhelming sense of excitement about the next chapter of their lives. He looked around the table and surveyed the group. Henry and Mary were making eyes at each other, and Tom was smiling jubilantly at Edith, but, to Bertie's surprise, Laura looked a little nervous. He wondered if perhaps she felt slightly out of her element, being with Edith's entire family in a very upscale establishment, which was likely above her means under normal circumstances.

He decided to try and remedy her nerves.

"Laura, I just realized, you're the only proper Londoner among the group, here. So, as the only true local, do you have any tips for the rest of us?" Bertie asked and then _immediately_ berated himself. He had intended to try and bring her into the conversation to make her at ease, but somehow managed to put her on the spot with a question he didn't think she would likely enjoy trying to answer.

As she struggled to formulate a reply, he immediately interjected again and said "I don't know about you, but I feel like a real fish out of water at these kind of places, I'm such a country-dweller in my heart!"

Laura seemed to immediately relax a little and Bertie was pleased. She took her time in replying and finally said "Oh yes, I know what you mean. Although I _am_ a townie in _my_ heart, I tend to like … _quieter_ places than this. But it's so lively here! It's nice to try something new every once in a while!"

Tom smiled at Laura and commended her "Well said!"

Bertie stole a glance at Edith who was already smiling at him knowingly. Bertie loved that nothing seemed to escape her notice, and her smile seemed to indicate a real affection and appreciation for his efforts.

Henry, having missed the subtext of the previous interaction, changed the topic of conversation rather drastically. "Edie, and Bertie – how was last week? It was Marigold's first visit to Brancaster, wasn't it? How did it go?"

"Oh, marvelously well!" Edith replied: "She seemed to take to the place quite quickly – which was certainly helped by the efforts of Bertie's mother" She finished and smiled at Bertie, inviting him to continue the story.

"Oh yes – the two of them were thick as thieves by the end of the weekend, weren't they? Marigold spent more time with my mother than with either you or I" He started, smiling back at Edith.

"And I think it bodes well for the future." Bertie continued "Moving her from Downton to Brancaster won't be quite such a harsh transition now that we've provided a soft introduction to the place."

Mary decided then was a good moment to throw her two cents in. "Well, if I know my sister, that was likely her intention from the very beginning of planning this little visit." She said knowingly and tilting her head at Edith and catching Edith's eye.

"Indeed it was. I freely admit it." Edith replied.

"And I was your willing accomplice in this mission. And if I may boast, we enjoyed a resounding success!" Bertie replied, looking around the table.

"Yes! Marigold has mentioned various parts of the visit several times since her return to Downton. I'm so delighted, Bertie!"

Bertie smiled at her in pride. He had worked hard to make sure the visit with Marigold had gone well. He knew how important it was, because if Marigold felt comfortable at Brancaster, then Edith would feel truly at home. And that was always his end goal. The fact that he was developing a real, true affection for his future stepchild was simply an added bonus.

He turned to address the rest of the table to bring them back into the conversation. "Although, one minor hiccup from Marigold's visit is that she apparently still calls me "the man who played dollies with me in the big Brancaster place", so I managed to get her to remember the house, just not _me_ yet!"

Everyone laughed and Laura particularly smiled at him in sympathy. Mary, however, had a perplexed look on her face.

"What do you intend for Marigold to call you?" She asked Bertie, in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Bertie met her fierce gaze with equal veracity as he responded: "I hope she calls me _dad_. Or _daddy_ , or perhaps _father_ or _papa_. Whatever she chooses, really…. I'm sure she and I will work that out in time."

He finished by smiling, to demonstrate the strength of his conviction in his intention to fully embrace the role of taking on the child. He felt certain that Mary's hidden implication was somehow to question his commitment to forming a relationship with Marigold. Thankfully, she seemed to appreciate the strength of his reply and smiled and nodded at him.

Just then, the waiter returned with the round of champagne and an extra two bottles for the table. Bertie tipped the man and proposed a toast.

"To new loves and old friends & old loves and new friends!" He looked around the table at everyone, and came to rest his gaze on his darling Edith as he raised a glass and everyone followed suit.

"Cheers!" Everyone said in unison and took a sip of their drink.

"We should try and make this a regular thing!" chimed Henry, very enthusiastically. Bertie suspected that, unlike Laura, Henry was _quite_ inhis element in a big social event like this. He clearly was a natural in social situations.

"Well… a regular thing that we all get together at least – I doubt we'll be able to make sure that every occasion is as special as this one!" said Laura.

"Too true! And it's just as important that we see each other, not necessarily always in such grandeur!" supported Edith.

"But still…" Tom began "Can't hurt to enjoy the splendor while we're here!" He said, as he smiled at everyone at the table.

Bertie was starting to really like his future brother-in-law. He was such a strong, positive influence on every person in his near proximity. He seemed to genuinely only want the best for the people he loved and he made a concerted effort to have a good impact on everyone he talked to. On top of which, he really was putting in an effort to make sure Laura felt included even if as Bertie suspected, Tom might have some more personal motivations for paying Laura attention.

Mary decided to chime in then as well. "Yes – and I still can't believe that _Edith_ is the VIP who got us the ticket!" She snipped, while smiling with a slightly devious look behind her eyes.

However, it had not had the impact she had intended and everyone fell silent and either looked at Mary or looked down awkwardly. Bertie immediately stole a glance at Edith who was looking at Mary and appeared to be more surprised than anything else.

For Mary's part, she looked immediately repentant. "I apologize, Edith….. Old Habits…. it won'thappen again." And then Bertie noticed Mary look at Edith with a determination on her face, clearly trying to catch her eye. She succeeded after a moment and the two women spoke in unison as they said:

"… _for Sybil_."

This caught Tom's attention and he shifted forward in his seat as he asked: " _What's_ for Sybil?"

Laura was watching Tom as he eagerly awaited a response to his question. Edith took up the mantle of explaining.

She looked at Tom, and then quickly at Mary, and then back over to Tom as she said "Mary and I have made a mutual promise to try to be kinder to each other. I think our animosity has hit its breaking point one too many times. So we are … _creating a new narrative_. And we decided to do this for Sybil. She used to always implore us to get along. And we never did while she was alive." Edith stopped and looked down for just a moment. "But we're doing it now. For her. It's what she would want us to do." Edith finished by looking at Mary and smiling, albeit a bit too formally. Mary acknowledged the gesture and smiled in return. Tom, for his part, was so overcome, he looked a little verklempt.

He leaned back and didn't speak for several more moments. Bertie watched him intently, feeling very sympathetic. He could only imagine what he must be feeling.

"Edith, Mary. That makes me so happy to hear….. on _so_ many levels. I loved Sybil. And I love you both. And to hear that you two will stop _hating_ each other…" He trailed off and smiled joyously.

Bertie loved that Edith was returning his smile with equal fondness. Mary also smiled at him and quickly quipped. "Well. Don't expect us to suddenly be _best friends_ or braid each other's _hair_ …. But yes. We will be doing our level best to get along from now on."

Tom smiled. "Well I'm still delighted. This is such great news. Sybil would be thrilled, I'm sure."

Edith and Mary both smiled at Tom. Laura seemed to want to partake in the conversation and leaned forward and asked "Did you both get along well with Sybil when you were growing up?"

"Oh yes – I think we both had wonderful relationships with Sybil" Edith replied, then turned to Mary as she continued "I think Sybil was quite adept at serving as a mediator between the two of us." Mary only nodded in acquiescence. "Sybil seemed to understand both of us perfectly and was quite skilled at…. _managing_ _the show_ when all three of us were together."

Mary looked at Edith as a memory seemed to come back to the forefront for her "Do you remember Edith, when we were young and the three of us played hide and seek – Sybil would always insist on being the seeker? It was the oddest thing!"

Edith smiled and continued. "Yes! She always said that it was the only way to make the game challenging since she was the _youngest_ …which never made _any_ sense to me!"

Mary was smiling so genuinely as they continued this exchange that Bertie was surprised at how different her face looked as she reminisced with Edith "Exactly! Especially considering she always seemed to know where I chose to hide, every time!"

"Me as well!" Edith was almost giggling "She had an omniscience about that sort of thing!"

Mary continued "And she knew the house and grounds so well. The few times she _did_ hide, it took hours and hours to find her!"

"Do you remember that time, Mary, when no one could find Sybil one day – and papa and mama were in _such_ a state. Search parties were sent out, and Mrs. Hughes was the one to find her that evening, she'd been in the barn playing with the piglets for hours and hours? She was covered in mud and happy as a clam!"

Mary smiled and nodded "I do, indeed remember. Carson was in a snit!"

Tom leaned forward to Edith and asked "How old would Sybil have been?"

"Um, I'm not sure exactly, perhaps around nine or ten years old?"

Tom smiled to himself and decided to jump in "Do you remember the time when I was still the chauffeur and the three of you were off to the dressmakers with your mother. Cora was making suggestions for how she could be strategic for her gown selection in order to _woo young men_ and Sybil stated that she'd rather wear a potato sack than do what your mother was asking?"

Mary and Edith both laughed a little at the memory. But Bertie could see that, despite the fact that he was smiling, reminiscing about Sybil was making Tom a little sad, whether he would admit it or not. He also noticed that Edith was looking, not at Tom but at Laura as this exchange was playing out, and was not surprised when she changed the topic slightly.

"Oh! But Tom – I must admit, one of my favourite memories of you is from Isobel and Dickie's engagement announcement dinner when you got up and ordered Larry Gray out of the room and called him a bastard!" Edith replied enthusiastically. "I know I should disapprove of such language, but it was highly satisfying to hear him addressed thusly!"

" _Agreed!_ " Mary immediately replied. "You're probably the only one with the courage to tell Larry Gray what he really has coming to him!"

Author's note: Continued in Chapter 2! Thanks for reading this far!


	2. Dancing & Loves

"Oh! But Tom – I must admit, one of my favourite memories of you is from Isobel and Dickie's engagement announcement dinner when you got up and ordered Larry Gray out of the room and called him a bastard!" Edith replied enthusiastically. "I know I should disapprove of such language, but it was highly satisfying to hear him addressed thusly!"

" _Agreed!_ " Mary immediately replied. "You're probably the only one with the courage to tell Larry Gray what he really had coming to him!"

"Who is Larry Gray?" Laura asked while looking around, unsure to whom she should address such a question.

Tom took up the mantle and turned to her "Larry Gray is Mary's former mother-in-law's stepson. And he is a reprehensible man. I know I should feel badly about losing my temper at him, but he is just such a …" Tom looked as if he was going to use a curse word, but stopped himself and looked repentantly at Laura and finished the thought.

"… He's a bad person."

"And that night he got what he deserved, and we _love_ you for it!" Mary stated generously.

Edith turned to Henry, who had been silent for a few minutes.

"Henry, all this talk of siblings, do you have any? I remember noting that there were none present at your's and Mary's wedding, but that was a small affair, so I always meant to ask afterward…"

"Sadly, I don't, Edie. My father died when I was a baby and my mother never remarried. So it's just me, I'm afraid!"

"Oh! An only child! You and Bertie have that in common then!" Edith responded.

"Oh really? Bertie - you don't have any siblings either? We are a rare breed, I think!" Henry said to Bertie.

"Yes, indeed!" Bertie replied. "I think my parents wanted more children but… alas, it wasn't in the cards."

"Being an only child certainly had some ups and downs, but I think I'll want my children to have lots and lots of siblings" Henry said as he turned to Mary and winked at her. She simply rolled her eyes while smiling and looked back at Bertie.

Bertie decided to once again bring Laura into the conversation, determined to do better than his blundering first attempt "And you Laura? Are you an only child like Henry and me? Or surrounded by sisters like Edith and Mary?"

Laura smiled at Bertie and said "Actually, I have four younger brothers."

"Oh Golly! The oldest of five! What a way to grow up!" Tom exclaimed enthusiastically.

"And what do they do?" Asked Henry.

"Two are farmers and two are in finance" Laura replied matter-of-factly

"Yes! And didn't your brother John just win an award?" Boasted Edith on Laura's behalf, to Bertie's delight. He loved how supportive Edith was of everyone she cared about.

Laura smiled bashfully as she replied "Yes, and he was written up in the paper, and we were all very proud of him."

"As they must be of you!" supported Henry. "You're a big-time magazine editor now!"

Edith smiled proudly at Laura, and everyone else followed suit, even Mary.

After Henry's comment, there was a bit of a break in the conversation, so Henry took his opportunity to be his usual suave, gallant self and sweep his wife off her feet. He rose from the table, extended his hand to Mary.

"My dearest, wonderful wife! Would you let me lead you in a dance?"

Bertie watched with interest as Mary smiled so widely to the point she was almost blushing as she took his hand, stood up and followed her husband to the dance floor. Bertie remarked how, despite Mary's being cold at times, Henry seemed to bring out a sweetness in her and it made Bertie smile with a sense of knowing. Since he, too, was now privy to the awesome power of truly loving someone, he delighted in seeing that same power shared and harnessed between other people. He surveyed the table again, and Tom was looking at Laura as she had started to quietly say something and Edith was already looking back at Bertie. He smiled at his wife-to-be, and wordlessly got up and extended his hand to her. She beamed at him and as she took his hand, she squeezed it quickly first before she stood up herself. Bertie felt himself flush with pleasure at Edith's gesture and couldn't wait to put his arms around her and start dancing.

The picked their spot, and Bertie took her right hand in his left and put his other hand around to her back. He couldn't help but notice how radiant she looked, as usual. This time she wore a lovely royal blue dress on with a head-piece that made her brown eyes glow as they moved around the floor.

Edith was smiling at Bertie but didn't say a word. Bertie loved that they were so connected that even a comfortable silence was exciting to him.

However, as Bertie began to think about the events that had transpired over the course of the evening, and specifically the conversation that had occurred immediately before they all took to the dance floor, a slight concern took root in his mind.

"You know darling, all that talk about Downton made me wonder …" Bertie began, and looked at Edith feeling a mild amount of trepidation.

"Wonder about what?" Edith smiled, while still smiling just as sweetly as she had a moment before.

"Well, I worry if your moving to Brancaster might prove a bit sad for you in some way. You all have such fond, shared memories of Downton, of growing up there together, and you obviously know it so well…." He trailed off, before he mustered up the courage to continue again "We took the trouble to soften Marigold's transition when she moves, but I wonder … are you concerned that _you_ might suffer from an …. _adjustment period_ of sorts? A fear that you might miss Downton? Even if only for a short time at the beginning…"

Edith smiled at Bertie with such adoration that his face began to turn a deep shade of crimson as his mind wandered to inappropriate terrain.

"Bertie. Downton may have been where I've lived up until now, and where I've spent the vast majority of my life, but I assure you. There will be no adjustment period of any sort, at all. I will always love Downton, but it is no longer my home… _You_ are my home. Whether it's Brancaster, our flat in London, or even the cottage you used to live in as the agent. If that's where you are, that's where I want to be."

Bertie felt his heart beating at such a furious rate, the only reply he could seem to muster was to beam at her, so she continued.

"I may not know Brancaster well yet, and I may not have many memories from there. But you and I will make our own new memories there, _together_." And she slyly raised an eyebrow at him and smiled.

He looked at her, and felt so overcome by attraction to her, that he was amazed at his own restraint for not picking her up and carrying her home right then and there. Instead, he simply said:

"I might kiss you…."

"What, _now_?" Edith asked with mock incredulity.

"Yes." He replied, with conviction.

"Here. In front of all these people?"

"Yes."

"You'll _scandalize_ us both…" She said, still fully smiling.

"…Yes." He acquiesced.

Edith only continued to smile at him. And although he knew she had already silently consented to his desire, he felt it only proper to make sure.

"So, may I kiss you?" He asked, smiling slyly.

Edith, still smiling as wide as ever, shifted her eyes down to his lips, and said:

"Yes."

Bertie kissed her with the certainty of a man who knew he was the happiest he had ever been, and had exactly what he wanted. He quickly moved the hand he had around her back already from their dancing up slightly to just below her shoulder blades and pulled her in even closer. Bertie loved how every time he kissed her, it felt like the world around them melted away, and this time he forgot, for just a moment, that they were in the middle of a dance floor.

He let the kiss break naturally, letting go of her lips, but keeping his face just as close to hers as it had been just a moment earlier. They had stopped dancing and Edith took a moment and let out the lightest of sighs, the kind that made his entire body alight with fire. She then looked up at him and said "Oh Bertie, you're simply _determined_ to make the next four weeks feel like an eternity, aren't you?" She said teasingly.

Bertie was so amused at her _cheek_ that he couldn't help himself: he kissed her again but he broke the kiss after only a moment. This time, when he pulled his face back, he raised one eyebrow at her and gave her a knowing look. He thought about replies he could say, he thought about returning her cheekiness with equal fervor. Instead, he let his face become awash in everything he felt for Edith, looked deep into her eyes and simply said:

"My _future wife."_

Edith's face changed from an amused look to one that was overcome by love, emotion and adoration. She looked him straight in the eyes and mouthed the words "I love you" to him. He smiled in return and they continued to dance once again.

-The End –


End file.
